Pen-y-Bryn Hall

Pen-y-Bryn Hall is a large country house, dating from the early 19th century with earlier origins. The main block is a massive, square plan with a wing extending to each side. The central block is three storeys high with a cellar, featuring a three-window front and a hipped roof with parapets. It is constructed of red brick in a Flemish bond pattern, topped with a slate roof and moulded stone eaves. There are five red brick stacks: one central and two on each side, the latter reflecting the original design of the house, which included four main rooms leading off a central hall. The front elevation, facing the garden, has hornless sash windows set under flat arches with gauged brick heads. The second floor windows have nine panes, while the others have twelve. The rear is rendered and painted, incorporating a modern central entrance under a round-headed arch, with a stairlight above featuring radial glazing bars. The rear windows are set within round-headed arches and are cast iron casements with opening lights and quadrant stays.

The flanking wings are lower than the main block, both with hipped roofs and central chimney stacks. The west wing is a single-storey pavilion with an attic, rendered in appearance. The east wing is two storeys high and constructed of brickwork. Originally a service area, the east wing in the mid-19th century contained a dairy, scullery and boot room. The west pavilion provided additional reception rooms to the main house and has large canted bay windows facing the front and west, with sixteen-pane sash windows that extend almost to the ground. A modern, half-lit door within a portico consisting of a lean-to glass roof supported by four fluted columns provides the front entrance between the pavilion and the main block. The front of the east wing includes a large, infilled round-headed arch and a number of sash windows of differing sizes. The rear of both wings has doors and a mixture of modern and small-pane cast iron windows.

To the rear of the house is a courtyard enclosed by two ranges of partially converted barns constructed of timber framing and brickwork. An impressive walled garden is situated to the east.

The interior plan and details are primarily from the early 19th-century alterations, although the original layout of the house can still be discerned. The former entrance has been replaced with a sash window, and stub walls mark the position of the original central corridor. Interior features include doorways with panelled reveals, panelled doors and window shutters, picture rails, and round-headed arches. The front reception rooms have ornate coving, while the rear rooms are relatively plain. A mahogany dog-leg staircase has square section balusters, turned newels and a swept handrail. The hall features a flagstone floor, with oak flooring elsewhere.